Rockne Freitas Named Hawaii Community College Chancellor

The University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents approved the appointment of Dr. Rockne Freitas as chancellor of Hawaiʻi Community College at its July monthly meeting held Friday at the UH Mānoa campus. His appointment is for a three-year term, effective August 3, 2004.

"With campuses in Hilo and West Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Community College offers a broad range of educational and training programs to meet the needs of the Big Island," said Hawaiʻi CC Interim Chancellor Shirley Daniel, who also served as chair of the Hawaiʻi CC Chancellor Search Advisory Committee. "I am confident that Dr. Freitas will be an effective leader for the college in addressing the challenges and opportunities for higher education and workforce development for the benefit of Hawaiʻi Island as well as the state."

Freitas is currently vice president and executive director of the Ke Aliʻi Pauahi Foundation. He has held leadership positions at Kamehameha Schools, the University of Hawaiʻi, and GRG Enterprises, Inc., and served as a trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. He holds a bachelor‘s degree in animal science from Oregon State University as well as a master‘s degree and doctoral degree in education from the University of Hawaiʻi. His doctoral research focused on developmental systems and guidelines for drug prevention, education, monitoring and counseling for intercollegiate athletics.

Prior to his academic career, Freitas was a player and coach in the National Football League with the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is an inductee in the Hawaiʻi Sports Hall of Fame and the Oregon State University Sports Hall of Fame.

"Rockne Freitas is a distinguished alumnus and well-known within the community," said UH Acting President David McClain. "We are grateful to have him on board, and we also would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Shirley Daniel for her contributions while serving both as interim chancellor for Hawaiʻi Community College and as the chair of the search advisory committee."